London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 23, 2025

Coronavirus: US faces ‘tremendous public health threat’ as imported infections rise; World Health Organisation to start Wuhan inquiry

Public health agency says the number of US infections stands at 34, including 21 ‘repatriated cases’. Medical experts are set to travel to Wuhan, the outbreak’s epicentre, on Saturday, WHO secretary general says

The United States – so far free of community spread of the deadly coronavirus – faces a “tremendous public health threat” as the number of imported infections in the country rises, a leading US health official said on Friday.

Nancy Messonnier of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the number of infections in the US stood at 34. The figure includes 13 infections classified as US cases and 21 “repatriated cases”.

Of the repatriated patients, 18 were aboard the 3,700-passenger Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. More than 600 people on the vessel have been sickened by Covid-19 – the disease the virus causes – and two have died. The 18 patients from the ship were among 329 Americans flown home on a government-chartered plane this week.

“Let me be clear that we are not seeing community spread in the United States yet, but it is very possible, even likely, that it may eventually happen,” said Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Centre for Immunisation and Respiratory Diseases.

“Our goal continues to be slowing the introduction of the virus into the US,” Messonnier said. “This buys us more time to prepare our communities for more cases and possibly sustained spread. This new virus represents a tremendous public health threat.”

Messonnier said the CDC believed Washington’s “aggressive travel precautions” – which include restrictions that virtually ban entry to mainland-based Chinese passport holders – were working, as the US was still not seeing evidence of the “community spread” that has hit several Asian countries.

Among the countries and territories that have detected cases without knowing the infection’s source are Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan.

The situation in South Korea, in particular, has become acute with authorities reporting 208 infections – quadruple the number two days ago. Two people have died of Covid-19, and Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun said the nation had entered “an emergency phase”.

Iran has reported 18 cases and four deaths in the last two days, while Lebanon on Friday reported its first infection – a woman who arrived from the holy city of Qom in Iran.

In Canada, health authorities in British Columbia said late on Thursday that they detected the virus in a woman who had no history of travel to China, where most of the nearly 78,000 infections and 2,250 deaths have occurred.

This incidence was a “sentinel event” that was a possible “indicator that there’s more widespread transmission”, provincial health officer Bonnie Henry said. Canada has recorded nine infections so far.

Separately on Friday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said its team of public health experts – currently in China to help local authorities investigate the epidemic – was set to visit Wuhan, the outbreak’s epicentre.

WHO Secretary General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva that the team was to travel to Wuhan on Saturday. It already has visited Sichuan, Beijing and Guangdong since arriving on the mainland last week.

Its 12 international specialists, including Americans, have been working with their Chinese counterparts to learn more about the virus, such as its transmission rate and the most effective treatment. Also on the team are experts from Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Russia, Singapore and South Korea.

US officials had previously expressed concern over China’s lack of response to their offers in early January to send experts to the mainland.

Tedros also urged the world’s governments to remain vigilant amid signs of community transmission in multiple countries.

“The cases that we see in the rest of the world, although the numbers are small, but not linked to Wuhan or China, it’s very worrisome,” Tedros said.

Asked if the epidemic had reached a tipping point, the WHO chief said he believed there remained a narrow “window of opportunity” to contain it – a phrase he has repeatedly used in recent weeks to beat back assertions that a global pandemic is inevitable.

“This outbreak could go in any direction,” he said. “If we do well, we can avert any serious crisis, but if we squander the opportunity, then we will have a serious problem on our hands.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
×